hoifl you're watching "gmt" on "bbc world news." i'm lucy hockings. our top story, the hostage siege in a sydney cafe enters its 15th hour. a gunman is holding staff and customers at the lindt cafe in martin place in the central business districts. hundreds of heavily armed police have surrounded the building. five people have managed to escape, but it's not clear whether they fled or were freed by the gunman. >> our only goal tonight and for as long as this takes is to get those people that are currently

caught in that building out of there safely. >> the motive of the gunman is unclear, but earlier, a black flag with arabic writing was placed on the cafe's window. we're also going to look at how australia's jihadist problem is bigger than this hostage situation. >> it's midday here in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 11:00 p.m. in sydney where police are 15 hours into a hostage situation at a local cafe in the center of the city. a gunman has been holding staff and customers at the lindt chocolate shop cafe in martin place in the city's central business district. as you can see from this map, the state parliament building is nearby as is the reserve bank. this is usually one of the safest areas in the entire country. there is still no sign of the

situation coming to an end. authorities say they are in touch with the gunman, but it's not clear what is behind his actions. the australian prime minister tony abbott has described them as politically motivated. the area we know is in lockdown. police are around the cafe in sydney's central business district. we are going to have extensive coverage of this unfolding drama throughout the day here on "gmt." let's take you straight to sydney and the bbc's phil mercer. phil? >> reporter: this is right at the very edge of the exclusion zone, right in the heart of australia's busiest city. now, the cafe at the enter of this hostage crisis is about 200 meters away. you may be able to see over my shoulder a set of traffic lights to the left of those lights a hundred meters into martin place is the lindt cafe, where an unknown number of hostages are entering yet another hour of captivity.

this all began around about 9:30, quarter to 10:00 local time. it's now after 11:00 p.m. clearly this is entering another uncertain and potentially dangerous phase for those captives. we understand that australian police know the identity of the gunman and say that he is known to them. what they don't know are his motivations. is this an individual acting alone, or does he have broader political and extremist affiliations. those are questions that investigators are racing to answer. earlier today, five hostages did man make their way out of the building where the lindt cafe is situated. they were literally running for their lives. and that gives you an indication just as to the panic and the terror that is unfolding for those hostages tonight. once again, we don't know how many captives there are, but we do know that it has prompted one of the biggest security operations australia has ever seen. this, as we say, is the edge of the exclusion zone. a large area of downtown sydney

is in lockdown. hundreds of armed police officers have swarmed this area and it is worth noting too that the police say they are committed to a peaceful outcome. with an update on the latest situation, here's the bbc's richard galpin. >> reporter: hours into the siege and terrified staff from inside the cafe run for their lives. it's not clear if these two had escaped or been released, but in total, five people have now got out. it seems those still being held inside the lindt cafe have been forced to stand next to the windows. some having to hold up an islamic flag, similar to that used by militant islamist groups, such as islamic state and al qaeda. but so far, the authorities are refusing to speculate on what the motivation for this attack

may be. >> our only goal tonight and for as long as this takes is to get those people that are currently caught in that building out of there safely. that remains our number one priority. and nothing will change. >> reporter: there is a huge police operation under way with heavily armed officers surrounding the cafe, locking down the city center, and preparing for what could be a long siege. >> i've never seen anything like this happen. it's probably the first time in australian history that something this major in regards to a terrorist threat has happened. >> reporter: this allegedly is the armed man holding the hostages inside the cafe. police are negotiating with him to try to end the siege peacefully. >> the whole point of politically motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves. australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society.

nothing should ever change that. >> reporter: the police tactic at the moment seem to be focused on the negotiations with the hostage taker, however long it takes. but still, it's not clear what his demands are. richard galpin, bbc news. >> reporter: there are two critical issues at play here. firstly, and most importantly, the health and safety of an unknown number of captives who are entering yet another hour as hostages at the end of the barrel of a gun at the lindt cafe here in sydney. and also the motivations of this man. the police and the authorities here won't say if they think this man is politically motivated. they say he may be, but he may be acting alone. earlier today, the australian prime minister tony abbott hosted at least two sessions of

the national security committee drawn up to convene to address this crisis, and this is what mr. abbott had to tell the australian nation. >> we don't yet know the motivation of the perpetrator. we don't know whether this is politically motivated, although obviously there are some indications that it could be. we have to appreciate that even in a society such as ours, there are people who would wish to do us harm. that's why we have police and security organizations of the utmost professionalism that are ready and able to respond to a whole range of situations and contingencies, including the situation that we are now seeing in sydney. >> reporter: australia has been on high alert when it comes to the threat of terrorism attacks, and the focus, the debate here

in australia has been that of home grown extremists. in october, the australian parliament gave the police and the national security agencies greater powers to try to clamp down on young australian jihadis who were thinking or planning of going to places like syria and iraq to fight alongside militant groups, including islamic state. in september, we saw australia's biggest counterterrorism raids. they were held in sydney and brisbane. others later in melbourne. and australia has raised its domestic terror threat level from medium to high. so this is a story, if it does turn out to have terrorist connections, that will have huge ramifications for this country. there has been quite a lot of chatter on social media, as you'd imagine. mark de stefano has been watching as well.

>> we've been standing by in this holding pattern and all the cameras are trying to get the best look. you spoke of about channel proximity to the newsroom. they are 15 meters away on the other side just opposite the lindt cafe. so they've been allowed back in their newsroom. i understand when they're reporting things like lights have been turned off, i think we have to trust them because they really do have eyes right into the middle of that lindt cafe. >> what is the mood on social media, mark? earlier today, we saw those images of a black flag with white arabic writing on that particular flag, and that did fuel lots of speculation that there was a link between the sydney siege and extremist elements, either here or overseas. so what are you seeing, what are you hearing on social media in terms of what people are saying

about this possible link between the sydney siege and militant groups perhaps overseas? >> reporter: a photo was up loaded very early on in the siege. a channel 7 reporter had a photo of two women, which were holding up a black flag with arabic inscriptions, and from all reports, it's a flag which is a very important message written on that flag for many muslims. but as you can imagine, a black flag with white inscription made the internet go crazy. there was conspiracy theories straight off the bat that this man was tied to islamic state or isis, and there's always this self-correcting mechanism, though, with social media. because quickly, people started to realize that it wasn't the isis flag, the one that is regularly flown in the middle east. but the actual flag itself being

used, an islamic flag of some type really does for many australians have connotations with terrorism, and i think that this is something many australians don't deal with on a regular basis, where geographically very far away from the middle east. so when these situations happen, this very vivid visible terror incident occurring right in the middle of australia's biggest business district, it really did shock a lot of people, and the use of that black flag has really sent a chill down everyone's spines, that the local tabloid "daily telegraph," which is news corps owned, they ran a 2:00 p.m. newspaper edition which linked it very clearly to isis, and islamic state. and they're already being pillaried on social media for doing so. because as far as we know, it's incorrect to tie that flag to

islamic state. it really is one of those situations where that photo was uploaded, it became the image that was sent around the world of this hostage situation, which is still going on. >> reporter: it's just after 11:00 p.m. here in eastern australia. we did have word in the last hour or two that that a group of muslim organizations across australia have released a statement saying how dismayed they are that religious imagery in the shape of that black and white flag that we've referred to has been used in such nefarious circumstances. prayer vigils have been held by other faiths and other denominations across sydney and across australia as an entire country crosses its fingers for the safety and well-being of these hostages. it was a very uneasy day too for other people in martin place. the business and financial hub of sydney.

many office workers forced to stay behind their desk because they were so close to the lindt cafe. among those people there was joshua acton, and he spoke to the bbc earlier. >> it was really quite surreal going for my morning coffee and cigarettes, and at that exact moment, police motorcycles turned up and police cars swung by, and policemen were screaming at everybody to get in the building and to clear the area immediately. i had no idea what was going on. nobody did. we went upstairs to my computer and had a look on the internet, and that's when i found out it was a hostage situation. >> and how quickly did the police arrive? in your opinion, joshua, was the police response swift and professional given the events of the last few hours?

>> absolutely. after looking at the news items now, and seeing when it actually occurred, this was before 10:00, they were on the scene very quickly. the office was in lockdown. and we were there for some hours. >> and what was it like when you were able to leave? what was the mood among your colleagues given that by then you would have known that the people were still being held inside the cafe very close to where you work. >> the mood was -- everyone was in a state of shock. a lot of my work mates go to the cafe on a regular basis. all very concerned for the staff and the customers. when we were finally evacuated, the police met us, and they were on every single corner and getting us to safety.

>> reporter: this is a hostage crisis that is now entering nighttime. after 11:00 p.m. here in eastern australia. and what we know now is that these hostages have been held captive for well over 12 hours. the police seem to be playing the long game here. the authorities saying that they are keen to impress upon everyone to remain calm, and they are hopeful this this hostage crisis will reach a peaceful conclusion. >> phil, few so much for joining us from sydney. as soon as we have more on what is happening there, we'll return straight to sydney. for now, let's pick apart some of the other details that we've been getting. we had been reporting that a black islamic flag has been displayed at the window of the cafe. the message says there is no god but allah and muhammad is his messenger. it is used by boko haram as well

in nigeria. with me now is gordon corera. what can we read into the fact that this flag was displayed inside the cafe? >> it does suggest an islamist motivation. clearly to this individual, there is a political motivation as well. we don't know much more, though, about his demands or his background. the authorities do know about this individual, though. they say he is known to the police and also even the media as well. he does also appear to have been making demands. but those have not been reported at the request of the police. so we're left with exactly what his intentions are. but clearly the flag is suggestive of where he's coming from ideologically at least. clearly the authorities will also be investigating to see does he have any links or connections to any groups. for instance, i.s. in the middle east. or is he purely a self-starter, a loan actor work by himself. >> if it does emerge that he has acted alone, is this the kind of thing that australian officials were bracing themselves for? >> to be honest, it's the kind

of thing that a lot of countries are bracing themselves for. we've seen a shift from large scale plots by groups towards so-called lone actors. sometimes one or two. sometimes radicalized on the internet. sometimes by contact with a few other people. and we've also had calls from the group calling itself i.s., islamic state, to go out and do something effectively, to just do something, rather than organize something, just go out and act themselves. so we've seen incidents, for instance in canada, but also in australia, we've seen concerns recently and arrests regarding this growing concern about the self-starters or lone actors, which are much harder for the authorities to spot. the large cells or networks connecting and communicating with each other and perhaps groups in the outside world, all of who might be monitoring, providing more leads, if you like, for the authorities to pick up. >> have you seen any reaction so far on the website, the twitter feeds and things that these jihadist groups use, claiming responsibility? >> no, and in fact there's been

relatively little out there from the groups, the twitter feeds sympathetic to i.s. talking about this. now, it's early days. it's not clear what that means. but there's certainly been nothing like a statement of responsibility or indication that he was working with other people. that still points us towards, without being sure that this was someone acting more likely on his own or perhaps with maybe one or two others. >> how vast and difficult now is the scale of the job for the security forces, when you're looking at all these young men going off to the middle east to fight, but you're also looking at a threat within the country too? >> it's something that security services there, here, elsewhere are increasingly worried about. first of all, you do have that flow of people going out to the middle east, and then potentially coming back. and those people potentially being dangerous because they've seen or got involved in things out there, even if they didn't start that, they certainly may well be by the time they get back. you've also got people who have not gone out. maybe don't have an intention of going out, but are radicalized

by the events out there. perhaps they have other issues and this is a way of making their statement or perhaps profpr professing an allegiance. it's far harder to spot these people, especially if they're acting alone. gives you fewer ways really of spotting them in terms of networks and cells than the traditional modes of intelligence gathering. and so trying to prioritize, trying to work out who you put surveillance on, trying to work out who might be dangerous, that certainly seems to be getting harder for the intelligence agencies and security services in this world of increasingly lone actors or self-starters or people working on small cells as well as those going out to iraq and syria. we don't know that much about this individual to know his motivation or links. >> thanks so much for being with us. do stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come, we're going to bring you more coverage from sydney. those hostages are still inside that cafe in the septembcenter

city. we're going to hear from the muslim community in australia. stay with us. ♪ wellllll... ♪ earlyfit ♪ latefit ♪ risefit ♪ fallfit ♪ ballfit ♪ wallfit ♪ pingfit ♪ pongfit ♪ pingfit ♪ pongfit ♪ rowfit ♪ throwfit ♪ slowfit ♪ olliefit ♪ oopsfit ♪ otisfit ♪ thiswayfit ♪ thatwayfit ♪ daddyfit ♪ pappyfit ♪ datefit ♪ weightfit ♪ goalfit ♪ gooooooalfit ♪ stepfit ♪ stairfit ♪ smartfit ♪ heartfit ♪ spinfit ♪ bikefit ♪ hikefit ♪ yikesfit ♪ wheeeeefit ♪ wowfit ♪ whoafit ♪ findyourfit ♪ it's all fitbit

let's return you live to sydney. this is the live shot we have from the heart of the cbd, the central business district there. police completely maintaining their lockdown. you can just see a policeman there at the front of the shop. quite a wide area around the cafe is in lockdown. people who work in that area have been told not to come in to work tomorrow. remember, it's about 20 past 11:00 in the evening in sydney right now. some of australia's top negotiators are on the line continuing to negotiate with the hostage taker. police say he is known to them. as you see this live shot, let's

bring in james ratliff, who watched one of the hostages escape earlier today. james, thank you for being with us. just tell us what you saw. >> my pleasure. i was there earlier and there was armed gunman hiding around the corner from the cafe in the building, taking cover on the corner. it was quite a solemn atmosphere. showing more support than anything. it was a very strange experience. >> and you actually saw one of the hostages escape? >> yeah, my friend managed to take a photo of one of the hostages getting released. it was quite a strange experience when that happened. obviously very relieved to see that. >> did that hostage -- must have seemed absolutely terrified to you. >> yeah, you could see her face was terrified but also quite

relieved. so hopefully there will be some more resolution in the next few hours really. >> and you couldn't tell from the situation whether she had been freed or whether she actually managed to escape on her own? >> no. from the angle we were watching, it was impossible to see whether it was inside the building, so from what i've heard, it was a case of those that have come out have escaped rather than been released. >> you mentioned it was a very somber atmosphere. did it also feel that the police were in control of the situation? >> the police did seem in control. there was a very strong block of police officers leading up to the area. it did seem like it was in

control from what i could say. >> what are people saying and what's the atmosphere like? >> it's surprisingly calm. that's fervor of traffic on the roads, but it is still quite calm and quiet. there's been no reaction. other than that at the moment, everybody's reasonably shocked that there's no anger as of yet from what i can see. >> james, thank you so much for joining us. james ratliff, who was at the scene and whose friend took a photo of one of the hostages who managed to escape. there has been some reaction from the muslim community in australia. they've released a statement condemning the gunman's actions. and saying it's a time for all australians to stand together. the statement has more than 40 symmetries from various islamic groups and says the australian muslim community shares with fellow sydney ciders their utter shock and horror at the event at lindt cafe.

we reject any attempts to take innocent lives of any human being or to instill fear and terror into their hearts, and any such despicable act only serves to destroy the good will of australia and ridicule islam. that statement just coming through from the muslim community. do stay with us here on "gmt." the situation is still developing. we'll have the latest for you. nothing. nada. small potatoes. no potatoes. diddly squat. big ol' goose egg. the new iphone, zero down. zero. zilch. said that already. zizeroni. not a thing. zamboni. think that's a hockey thing. you know what, just sign us up. okay - this way. with at&t next get the new iphone for $0 down. now get a $150 credit for each line you switch.

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in this half-hour, we'll bring you right up to date with the sydney cafe siege. a gunman is holding hostages in the center of the city. hundreds of heavily armed police have surrounded the building. five people have managed to escape. what is not clear is whether they fled or were freed by the gunman. also coming up on "gmt," ben is with us, and there's a big strike taking place in belgium at the moment. >> that's right, lucy. it is the largest strike to have taken place in belgium for years, and it's brought much of the country to a standstill.

unions are protesting against the government's austerity program. transport is massively disrupted, and roads and ports are blocked. stay tuned. we'll have a special report. dozens of people are stl still being held hostage in a central sydney cafe. heavily armed police have swarmed the city's central business district. the situation has been ongoing for about 14.5 hours now. there is still no sign of it comes to an end. authorities say they are in touch with the gunman, but it's not clear what is behind his actions. let's show you the situation right now. the area still in lockdown. as you can see, an empty street there apart from those few police who are around the cafe

at the moment. the police have said they are committed to a peaceful outcome and that negotiations are taking place. let's go over exactly what we know for you. at about 9:30 local time, witnesses say a man with a bag and a gun walked into the lindt cafe in martin place. the siege then begins and police flood the city, evacuating nearby offices and holding others in lockdown. at about 15:30, approximately six hours into the siege, five hostages escape, first three people are seen running, then two more an hour later. let's talk to an australian commentator on terrorist issues and lecturer at the global terrorism research center. thank you for being with us on "gmt." what is your assessment of who this man is and what his motivation is?

>> we have to be careful, because police have been really stressing that they don't want to provide any information that might compromise the operation at the moment. so we've got information to go on. certainly, though, the impression forming is of somebody who is acting very much as a lone wolf. this doesn't look at all like some kind of coordinated group effort. it doesn't look like it's connected to some multi-national terrorist organization or anything of that scale. it does seem to be someone who is fairly amateurish as well. a lot of commentary starting to emerge. piecing together pictures of someone who doesn't really have control of the hostages, can't control his message, hasn't been able to get any of demands that he's been making aired. the australian media have certainly not been cooperating in that regard, and that's really at the behest of police. he's locked himself effectively in this place. he doesn't have too many options about how he's going to manage

to get himself out of here if that's what he wants to do. five people have now left the building. we don't know wlorhether or not they escaped. so whatever way you cut this really, this is somebody that the police know, nobody else knows, but doesn't look like he's in control of the situation and therefore we don't seem to be dealing with a highly professional terrorist operative or anything like that. but all that's preliminary at this stage, we should say, and we should stress the police don't want to really get involved in providing more information than they absolutely need to. >> we did see, though, the flag with the declaration of islamic faith. clearly, that does show what the gunman is thinking to a degree, or certainly the cause or the broader thing that he would like to associate with. >> yeah. he certainly wants to associate himself with terrorist groups, or the neojihadist moment.

that seems to be his intention. but even here, he seems a little bit confused in his mind. a particular flag he has put up, it's a black flag. it's a generic symbol, even in that font, it's generic. it pops up in all sorts of places. on the black background, it does tend to have a connection with radical islamism. but even here, we see him making requests that he provided with the flag of isis, as though he was incapable of procuring one himself and decided he's got the wrong flag and wants to make a different statement. so clearly he has an affinity for this or at least he wants to demonstrate an affinity for this movement, but it doesn't seem that he's very good at communicating that. >> we've been covering throughout day here on "bbc world news" the rise on twitter of this #i'llridewithyou, which has had hundreds of tweets, sometimes a second coming

through. saying they're preparing to be on public transport with anyone who may be worried. do you get a sense that there is a fear amongst some members of the muslim community of some kind of retaliation? >> there's no question there is that fear. a number of events concerning terrorism have emerged in australia the past few months. really the biggest of them being in september, where we had the biggest counterterrorism rates seen in australia. this was the beginning of a shift on the social temperature, and a lot of attacks in news reports of muslim women particularly being too scared to leave the house and so on. and a lot of muslim women were saying this, saying i'm worried about retaliation, i don't want to get on public transport.

that's why i think it's very important. the fact that the muslim community organizations have come out and spoken about this. there is a kind of conciliation or coming together between different aspects of the community. the heartland of the muslim community, particularly the lebanese community. so these things are going on. at the same time, we're seeing far right groups start to organize, saying they want to plan protests and the like. so you get both sides of this happening. both phenomena. and that's one of the difficulties that happens when any society is placed under the kind of stress that you get in what looks like a terrorist event and one that is still unfolding before our eyes. >> thank you very much for

joining us. we are also joined by tessa kuhn. she started tha that #i'llridewithyou. remarkable to see how much traction your hash tag has now, how many thousands of tweets have been sent. tell us what happened, why you felt the need to start this hash tag. >> i've been working the sydney cbd. thankfully i wasn't working in the city today, but i was watching to see it unfold on social media, as i think most people were. i saw a frightened muslim woman on public transport and that pretty much broke my heart.

it just seems like something there should be more of in the world. can't say that i planned this at all. it has been amazing to watch it take off. this is a completely off-the-cuff thing. i've just been so overwhelmed at how many people have picked it up. >> tell us what that act of kindness was. >> there was a woman who observed another woman on a train just silently remove her hijab, and she approached that woman on the station, and simply said put it back on, i'll walk with you. >> so many people have had your reaction, which is it's almost caused people to cry. they're sort of so wanting to get across this message.

is that the overwhelming feeling you've got, that people really are using social media to take a stand? >> that is what it looks like from here. i think it is important that it be said. there is -- your previous people were talking about the temperature of the mood here being changed. i think this is something that specifically does need to be said right now. >> what is your reaction when you hear that there are these solidarity vigils, which is great. but there are also far right groups organizing at the moment, too. >> well, i guess that's the reason that we all go on and do these little changes, because that's how we push back. >> and what is the feeli ining amongst you and your friends tonight in sydney?

>> i helicoptcouldn't begin to r anybody else. it's been a very intense day. the siege is still ongoing. we don't know anything about the hostage taker. really all we want is for everyone to make it out alive and uninjured, and with as little trauma as possible. >> it has been absolutely remarkable to see the reaction that that hash tag that you started has had. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> let's speak now to nick doyle, a correspondent for abc who is at the scene. what's happening at the moment? >> reporter: we've just seen a number of people go through the cordon. they're in plain clothes. what we do know is that police have been negotiating with the armed assailant at some stage throughout the afternoon. police are refusing to say exactly how often that contact

is taking place or exactly what has been discussed. police are also not telling us exactly how many people are inside the lindt cafe. but we certainly saw five people leave the cafe earlier this evening. scenes of, well, complete shock, and the look of terror on their face really told the story of what was going on inside there. but five people safe, whether they escaped or whether they were released, it's also unclear. but we know there are an unknown number of hostages inside with an armed assailant, and exactly what his demands are, we simply don't know. >> are there any other glimpses that anyone's getting from inside the cafe? do we know if the hostages are getting food, or anything like that? >> reporter: we were told earlier that the hostages are safe. we have seen a number of catering vehicles making their way through the cordon, but whether or not that's simply to provide refreshments to police,

we simply don't know. we know there have been some messages sent from inside the hostage area, but exactly the content of them, again, we don't know. one thing is very clear. is that police are prepared to wait this out. the police commissioner here in sydney says this will take as long as it takes, but he is determined that every one of those hostages makes it out alive. so there's still a very heavy police presence here. we're entering the early hours of the morning now. but police are bedding down for what could be a very long night. >> what have the police had to say about the hostage taker himself? we understand he is known to them. >> again, police not keen to give out too much information about who he is to be. we know he did ask some of the hostages to hold up a flag. it was a black flag with some

white writing on it that had some arabic text on it. exactly what his motivations are. the prime minister said today that certainly there is a political element to this crime, but exactly what the demands he is making -- we simply don't know. we also don't know what sort of contact he might be having with others. it's no surprise that police are keeping their cards fairly close to their chest, fearing that if they give too much information out, it might jeopardize the negotiations which are expected to go through at the night. >> nick doyle, thank you for updating us.out the night. >> nick doyle, thank you for updating us. we've got much more for you on the website, along with more on the story. you'll find a time line as well of events.

and changing laws in australia too all connected to a growing concern over islamic militancy. that's at bbc.com/news. you can also follow our twitter feed as well, bbc breaking has got everything for you, the latest as it comes to hand. that's @bbcbreaking. we've also been following a hostage drama in belgium. police there now say two men involved in the incident have given themselves up. four armed men had earlier entered an apartment block in the city of ghent, triggering a large police operation. the surrounding streets do remain sealed off. let's talk to the bbc's damian grammaticus now who is following this for us. just bring us right up to date what is happening in ghent at the moment. >> i can tell you that i'm at the scene here, and this incident is all over. literally in the last 20 seconds or so, the armed police units have just driven past me, pulling out, driving away. they've removed almost all of the barrier tape they had up,

sealing off the streets. and the whole area now is calm again. it appears from what we can understand here is that the four men who police say entered this building possibly armed have been taken into custody. they may have given themselves up, we understand. and been taken away. we don't know the cause of this incident. what we're hearing from locals, they say they believe this is a local dispute. one person said to me i think this was 100% drugs related. but nobody very clear of the exact cause, or even whether there was a hostage taken in this situation. >> damian, thanks for the update from ghent, a situation that appears to be over. but let's take you over to ben with the business news.

>> one of belgium's biggest strikes in years has paralyzed air and rail traffic across the country. 600 flights have been cancelled. train services from london, they're stopping in northern france. a few trains are running. some barricades have been erected on roads, too. why? it's all because the federal government took office two months ago. it's raising the state pension age. it wants to do that by two years, taking it to 67. it's also scrapping a planned wage rise for state workers. that's due to come into force next year. other savings include trying to balance belgium's budget by 2018. all of that because the country's national debt is almost 107% of its entire economic output. that is one of the highest in the eurozone, as nigel cassidy reports from brussels. >> reporter: desseerted railway

lines, now carefully organized picket lines of targeted signaling and crossing points to ensure that when it comes to transport, the capital of europe is cut off for the day. it began as a series of weekly regional scuffles, now it's turned into a full blown strike. it's halted the railways, including the international services to london, the planes, and it's halted the roads, if you count the traffic jams. there's a yawning gulf between a government trying to make the economy more competitive, and unions who say that working people have been singled out and the rich aren't paying anymore. the unions say the strikes will helicopter until belgium's free market liberal coalition has a rethink. this leader says changes to retirement pay and inflation pay rises must be stopped. >> this government says we take away this automatic indexation. we keep you at the purchasing

power of 98% and give those 2% to the employers, to the companies. without any guarantee that they will do something positive with it related to creation of work. and this is upsetting very much the workers. >> now patience does seem to be wearing thin. >> i think there should be a right to protest, but i don't agree with the fact that they are protesting that many times because it's cost 2 billion euros each time they protest. >> i think it's important for young people like us to support the strikes because it's our future. >> it's like everyone in europe are wondering, that the one who suffers is not the target. it's the victim. >> reporter: economists say if anything, the government in brussels is behind the curve when it comes to trimming its budget. >> let's not forget that countries like spain, portugal,

ireland, greece have done these before and belgium department, and right now we're going to have to do these. >> reporter: but such arguments cut little ice with the strikers, who pledge to continue until the belgian government rethinks its cuts. nigel cassidy, bbc news, brussels. >> let's go to japan now, because its prime minister has declared the economy to be his first priority after winning another large majority to push through reforms. he called a vote to support for his abenomics reforms. since he was elected in 2012, he's tried to revive the economy by raising public spending and at the same time wanted to print money. this latest result does buy him a little time to pursue some of the tougher structural reforms he needs to revitalize agriculture and industry. that could extend mr. abe's reign until 2018, meaning he could become one of japan's longest serving post-war prime ministers. clearly a lot of work to do over there. we'll have more on it for you a

little later. >> do stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come, more coverage from sydney as hostages continue to be held at a cafe in the center of the city. give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim. "how can my car depreciate before it's first oil change?" you ask. maybe the better question is, why do you have that insurance company? with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

i'm lucy hockings. our top story this hour, a gunman is holding staff and customers hostage at a cafe in the australian city of sydney. police have surrounded the building. five people managed to run away from inside the cafe. negotiators say they are in contact with the gunman. a black flag was held up earlier in the window. it showed the declaration of islamic faith.

with me now, just looking at social media as well, tom, we were just speaking to the woman who started #i'llridewithyou, now trending worldwide. it says something that australians are wanting to show a sense of unity. >> it seems like that hash tag has really struck a chord in australia. we've seen tonight as we approach the early hours of the morning that the muslim leaders have gathered with leaders of the jewish faith and also catholics to sort of have a visible show of unity in person against denouncing this person's actions because we don't know exactly who they're affiliated with. but definitely the religious communities across sydney are banding together. but also, as you say, online, this hash tag has gone crazy. it's not just in australia. it's in london. it's across the world. one of the worldwide trends. so obviously it struck a chord in a country like australia, which is very culturally diverse, religiously diverse. in the past, that's caused some

sort of division. it's manifested itself negatively. it very much seems like this is a very positive story to come out an day which has seen the very worst of humanity, but quite a positive light as well. >> what's tony abbott had to say so far? >> obviously he's condemned the actions, but it's interesting because a lot of people watching might think why australia, why would australia be caught up in anything that might resemble islamic state or the fight against extremism 24 the middle east, but tony abbott and indeed the australian federal police have become very worried and have been active to crack down on a growing trend of extremism, home grown extremism within australia. we know that at least 70 people have gone from australian shores to fight with so-called islamic state in iraq and in swaths in syria. we know there's at least about 100 people who are supporting actively extremism overseas, but

are based within australia. tony abbott is very worried that this problem will get even worse as we go ahead. >> thanks so much, an and #i'llridewithyou trending worldwide. do stay with us. we'll continue to keep you up to date with the situation in sydney, of course. it's almost midnight there, but yelda will bring you more on "impact," so do stay with us.

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first, there were the daleks, and then, there was a man who fought them. and then, in time, he died. there are a few, of course, who believe this man somehow survived and that, one day, he will return. for both our sakes, dearest hannah, we must hope these stories are true. [ gasps ] i got your message. not many people can do that,